“I despise this kingdom—where that girl doesn’t even realize how blessed she is, where you all spoil her, where I feel utterly worthless! Do you think I can genuinely cherish such a kingdom? Why should I endure a life of endless sacrifice for such a place?!”

The Kingdom of Lymore had become worthless to Charlotte, to the point she’d rather destroy it with her own hands.

“All of you expected me to be the ideal sister, the perfect crown princess, without ever allowing me to be just Charlotte for even a moment! Even though you’re far from the ideal fiancé, even though that man is far from the perfect father, and even though Juliet is far from the flawless sister! Yet, I have to be perfect! You only want me to be a replica of that man! …I wanted to be spoiled, too. It’s unreasonable that I shouldn’t be allowed to do so just because I’m the crown princess.”

Even the general public only saw Charlotte as the king’s daughter. She realized this when she slipped out of the carriage to evade the guards during her date with Ethelbert in the village.

It was a reaction possible for those who didn’t know her well. They were people who rarely had he opportunity to meet the crown princess, so they only knew her through rumors and newspapers, so perhaps it was inevitable.

I know there are those who’re truly grateful to me—I understand that.

But still, I can’t bear it.

A life where a ‘successor’ was all that she’d ever be. No matter how hard she tried, everyone thought she had it easy. The slightest failure would result in criticism. No one acknowledged her efforts—no one praised her, because it was only natural that she devoted herself to her role as the crown princess. For the sake of such a kingdom, one that didn’t even give her a sliver of happiness.

How foolish!

When that man retired, Charlotte could have become queen and reform the kingdom. She could have denied and destroyed the seemingly ideal yet distorted image of a king that Frederick had instilled in her, and made it known that no one was perfect. She could have alleviated the ruler’s burden and preached the need for people to make up for her shortcomings. She could have also taught her child, who she’d one day bare, that even if he was king, he was just a human with flaws—that he didn’t need to shoulder everything alone.

Once, she had intended to fundamentally change this kingdom which was dependent on Frederick.

But then, she realized it wasn’t worth devoting her life to such a goal when she’d already been forced to do so unilaterally up until now. She realized it would have been a grand waste of time.

“No one in this kingdom has ever told me that I don’t need to be as good as that man—that I can just lead the kingdom in my own way. Yet, they’re fully aware that Juliet and that man are different.”

It was unacceptable for Charlotte to be the only sacrifice.

Even if the king was replaced, the lives of the people wouldn’t dramatically change. It would be a different story if the person on the throne was incompetent, a tyrant like the previous king, or simply unfit to be king. However, as long as the ruler had the bare minimum of ability, the people around them would help and support them. The kingdom could run just fine even if the ruler wasn’t perfect.

The successor could be anyone but Charlotte—so she threw it away.

Besides, they weren’t even looking at her. They were only looking for a successor who was as good as Frederick.

“Unlike the people of this kingdom, Lord Ethelbert accepts me as just Charlotte. He sees me as a person. That’s why I asked to break off my engagement with you and marry into the empire—so that I could marry him. He said that by making Juliet queen or making her husband king, there wouldn’t be any trouble. At the very least, it would be better than I, who’s always criticized, right?”

Quentin hadn’t heard about this, so his eyes widened in surprise. Without his knowledge, talk of an annulment had occurred, so it was only natural—it was a normal reaction.

“Can you believe what that man said? He couldn’t force Juliet into such a difficult position. I’ve been working hard to become queen for a long time, and I’m exhausted, physically and mentally, yet he kept on going and on about ridiculous issues like wanting to eliminate all her hardships, and allowing her to live a carefree life free of the responsibilities and duties of a princess! All because she’s his precious daughter!”

Just like that, Frederick had stated that Charlotte wasn’t a precious daughter—that she was just an unloved heir.

“That man actually believed that marrying a man who only has eyes for my sister will make me happy. He said there’d be no happier marriage than with a man who wouldn’t hurt Juliet. Ridiculous—utterly ridiculous! Not even a child would say something so outrageous!”

Just because she was a healthy first-born, she became a tool to take away all of Juliet’s burdens. Even if Charlotte hadn’t been born, he could have found any number of alternatives to making Juliet a queen such as adopting a child from a branch family with strong royal blood.

So, it wouldn’t have mattered if she had never been born.

A convenient, expendable tool. If she were to disappear, it’d only cause more issues. However, rather than be sad, they’d just get angry because she disappeared without permission.

Such was Frederick’s first-born, Charlotte.

“As long as I’m in this kingdom, I might as well be dead.”

---

Read more than 10 weeks ahead and support Faux on Patreon for only $2~